Posts Tagged cabbage

I may have neglected the blog over the the past 6 months, but you can bet I wouldn’t forget it’s 3 year anniversary! Compared to last year, there hasn’t been as many noteworthy blog-happenings. However, there were some really delicious and popular posts from the past year, such as this Red & White Sangria to celebrate Canada Day, the zesty Tequila Lime Bison Tacos, and some tasty Cranberry, Almond & Date Power Bars. Of course the biggest thing to happen for Kyle and I was the birth of our daughter in October; not exactly blog related, but being busy with her has definitely been the main reason the blogging has slowed down. The past six months with her have been so amazing … and the little bean has started to eat real food, so you can imagine how exciting that is for someone as food crazed as I! I’m sure we’ll be sharing lots of fun foods that we make with her as she grows up. Thanks again for another great year – and for sticking around even after the reduction in posts!

To celebrate this year, I figured why not cook up a good ‘ol Gorging George favourite? Tacos! Always my back up for those busy, “I-Haven’t-a-Clue-What-to-Cook” kind of days (I even have a pork shoulder currently braising away to pile onto some tortillas for tonight’s dinner). I’ve had beef, pork, bison, some vegetarian tacos and even enchiladas on the blog, but I have yet to share a fish taco. So I’m finally posting a recipe for some salmon tacos that I made a few months ago. They are crispy and spicy, and topped with a mound of freshly limed cabbage & jalapenos, some pickled red onions, creamy avocado, salty feta and a sour cream that has a slight kick to it. A great treat for a celebration or even a weeknight meal. If you don’t have dinner plans this long weekend, I suggest you get yourself to the grocery store ASAP to grab all the ingredients to make these – they will not disappoint. Here’s to another year of sharing my favourite recipes with you!

Crispy Chipotle Salmon Tacos

Note – I just listed “kosher salt” as an ingredient, omitting the quantity, as it’s used often throughout the recipe to season everything. I am assuming that you have at least 1 Tbsp of salt kicking around. If you don’t have any kosher salt and have to use Table Salt, please reduce the amount slightly as the smaller granules would make everything rather salty if used in the same quantity.

Fill a mason jar or small container with the sliced red onion. Fill it up halfway with red wine vinegar. Add 1 tsp of salt and fill the rest of the jar with water. Allow to “pickle” while you make the tacos.

Heat your tortillas according to package instructions. Keep warm.

Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat in a large non-stick pan. Slice the salmon into 8 equal strips (they should be around 3/4″ wide each). Sprinkle all the salmon pieces evenly with 1 tsp of the chipotle chili powder and 1/4 tsp salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the 2 eggs together in a medium dish and pour the panko into another medium dish; season both with salt and pepper.

Working with one piece of fish at a time, first dip the fish in the eggs then into the panko mixture, pressing all the sides gently to ensure they are evenly covered. Place the fish gently into the hot pan. Repeat with remaining fish pieces. You don’t want to crowd the pan, so if yours is not large enough, work in 2 batches. Cook for about 8 minutes, flipping once after 4 minutes to ensure both sides get golden brown. (If you like, you can quickly fry the two outer edges to crisp them up) Remove the cooked fish to a paper towel lined plate.

Meanwhile, combine the cabbage, jalapenos, cilantro, juice of 1 lime, 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt in a medium bowl, mixing thoroughly; set aside. In a small bowl stir together the sour cream and remaining chipotle chili powder – use 1/2 tsp to keep it mild, or a full tsp if you like a lot of heat!

Construct the tacos: smear each tortilla with some of the sour cream mixture, then top with a piece of salmon, some of the cabbage mix, pickled onions, avocado and feta. Devour.

My brother and his fiancé are both currently at Post-Secondary School earning their much deserved educations. The plan is that they will finally be returning home when they’re done; here in Canada’s North. I’m thrilled. Sure, they come back every summer during their break, and for at least 2 weeks around Christmas, but it never seems like enough time. Every year, we have grandiose plans for amazing dinners we’re going to execute and devour. Indian Feast; Moroccan Feast; Sushi Feast …. And every year I am at the airport, bidding them adieu while dreaming of the food we never ate. I realize that part of the problem is our own doing: we never make the time to get together. Although the summer break for them is 4 months long, it’s a whirlwind of catching up with family and friends … and on relaxation lost over stressful nights cramming for exams or last minute assignments. Also, my future sister-in-law – Carina – worked an insanely busy job this past summer as a dispatcher for the water bombers (very cool job); and since the North had many forest fires, she was rarely seen by any of us.

On one of the few occasions that I did bump into Carina at my parent’s place; she was busy preparing to make Kimbap. I had never heard of it before, and I suspect there are some of you reading this who never have either. It’s a Korean “street food” akin to Japanese sushi. Like sushi, it’s a roll made with rice, seaweed and whatever fillings your heart desires. Typically it’s made with picked radishes or other pickled vegetables; and perhaps the addition of cooked fish or beef or eggs. It’s usually eaten as a snack or quick lunch meal, as it’s easily stored and transported. Sometimes it’s cut into slices, just like sushi, but if you’re packing it for a lunch on the run, you can leave it unsliced, and devour it like a burrito. The difference from sushi – and what makes it so much easier to eat (perfect for lunch) – is that you don’t need wasabi, pickled ginger, or soy sauce. Just the roll. Yum.

Carina found out that there is no where in town to purchase pickled radishes; so she left them out of hers – and I also left them out of mine (which makes me think we’ll have to make pickled radishes this summer…). When Carina made Kimbap in the summer – so she would have delicious lunches while working away at her job – she filled it with fried spicy tuna, avocado, and crab meat. The day after she made it, I was over visiting, and felt like a snack; so Carina said I should try some of the Kimbap rolled up in the fridge. I cut up a few slices and greedily inhaled them. Ever since then, I’ve been thinking about making this easy to prepare “snack” – but of course, never got around to doing it until now. Since I didn’t make any pickled radishes, I wanted something else pickled in the rolls – and what could be better than the ultimate Korean pickle: kimchi!

Kimbap

I also used Maangchi.com’s Bulgogi recipe for my kimbap rolls. I’ve written out the list of ingredients, but linked to the site for how to make the bulgogi. The only thing I changed was using rib-eye steak over sirloin – I wanted to ensure the beef was incredibly tender for the kimbap. I didn’t have any kimchi on hand, and didn’t feel like waiting to make some. So I made a very quick kimchi by using a half a bag of pre-cut, bagged coleslaw. Because the cabbage was so finely sliced, it wilted and took on the flavours of the fish sauce and hot chili paste fast. I let it soak for about 10 minutes with 1 Tbsp of salt and 1/2 cup water – then rinsed the cabbage. Then I mixed it with 1 Tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp sambal oelek, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 inch piece of ginger – minced, 1 clove of garlic – minced, and 1/4 tsp chili flakes. I put the mixture in a mason jar and filled with water. Allowed it to sit while I prepared the remaining kimbap ingredients and it was good to go!

Cook rice according to directions. Mix together the rice vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves. Once rice is cooked, pour vinegar mixture over rice and mix gently. Allow to cool slightly – you want warm rice. Too hot and the nori will fall apart. Too cold and it won’t smooth out on the nori. Meanwhile, begin preparing the remaining ingredients:

Prepare bulgogi according to directions on Maangchi. Peel the carrot, and cut into matchstick pieces. Heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick pan; add spinach and saute until wilted down. Drain the spinach. Set out all the ingredients in a “workspace” so you have plenty of room to roll the kimbap.

To begin, place a sheet of nori onto the bamboo rolling mat. Cover the nori with about 1 cup of rice – it will be easier to spread with either a rice paddle or if your hands are slightly wet. Place some bulgogi, spinach, carrots, and kimchi on the rice – place it all close together on the rice, near the side closest to you. Roll up the nori gently using the bamboo mat (this can take some practice if you’ve never made sushi or kimbap before). Unroll the bamboo mat. Continue with the remaining 4-5 sheets of nori and fillings.

You can either slice the kimbap into 1/2 inch thick slices and store in a container or wrap each un-cut roll in plastic film. Store in the fridge until ready to eat. Kyle preferred his sliced, I liked mine unsliced.

It’s been a month since Kyle and I celebrated 3 wonderful years of marriage to one another. Which is another example of how long it takes me to get the recipes from our dinner table to the blog. But they get here, so I’m glad that no one is really complaining. Thanks for your patience friends!

For anniversary dinners we could spend a fortune on a fancy-plated feast and an overpriced bottle of wine at a crowded restaurant, or even spend a day of roasting and braising and sauteing and all sorts of kitchen techniques to get a 5-star menu dish on our own table. But that’s not us. Yes, we enjoy that food immensely – when we’re in the mood, but for anniversaries, why not eat the food that reflects who are? If you have perused this site often, you’ve likely deciphered that tacos are a favourite of ours, and for good reason. They could easily describe our relationship: easy (but requiring a little elbow grease to be really good); spicy; sometimes soft (like gentle embraces), sometimes hard-shelled (like we both can be when we’re both right…); full of contrasting and complimentary ingredients; and never boring.

Now, of course I wasn’t thinking about all those things when I decided to make Braised Beef Tacos for our anniversary dinner. I was thinking: “Hey, it’s a weekday, so I want something quick and requiring little thought; but I want something good and that we love.” So a large hunk of beef rib roast was purchased and coddled into submission in my slowcooker. After many hours of braising away in a smokey chipotle sauce, I shredded the beef and returned it to sop up all the flavourful juices. Then I opened a bottle of our favourite red to let it breathe while I awaited Kyle’s late-night return from from a week-long trip for work (great way to build up anticipation for an anniversary eh?!?).

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium-high heat. Generously season the beef with salt and pepper. Add the beef roast to the pan and brown, turning once (no need to brown all sides – but go to town if you’d like to). This should take about 8-10 minutes total, as you want to get a good crust on the meat. Remove the meat to the slow cooker, placing on top of the sliced onions.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (garlic through oregano). Pour this mixture over the beef rib roast. Place lid on slow cooker and turn onto LOW. Cook for 8-10 hours, until the beef roast pulls apart easily with a fork (Alternatively, you can cook this for 5-6 hours on HIGH if you’re in a rush).

Remove the beef from the slow cooker to a large cutting board or platter. Allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, strain the juices from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Strain as much of the fat from the top of the juices as you can (if you have a gravy separator, use it here to drain the fat). Bring the juices to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly. While the sauce is reducing, shred the beef using two forks. Return the beef and sauce to the slow cooker and place on WARM until ready to eat. You can add some of the strained tomatoes and onions if you like as well. *You can also skip the step of straining the juices and reducing the sauce and simply add the shredded beef back into the slow cooker if you please.

To serve: prepare corn tortillas according to directions. Top tortillas with some of the shredded beef and some juices, and top with any toppings you desire – I suggested some above (cabbage through cilantro), but feel free to add what you like.

Makes 10-12 tacos.

You may have some beef leftover; so throw it in some chili or enchiladas; or eat it with some eggs in the morning – whatever your little heart desires.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer days. Up here in the north, it was starting to feel like summer picked up her skirt and ran for the hills. It was cold. Luckily it looks like we’ll be getting a few more warm-weather days before September comes. I’m trying to make up for any lost time by giving you another summer salad recipe. This one is a classic: coleslaw; remixed to add some new personality to your summer buffet.

A simple mix of jewel-toned purple cabbage, shreds of orange carrots, and sliced green onions provide the canvas for the salty, earthy and sweet miso dressing. Miso paste can be found in most grocery stores now (with a little sleuthing you’ll discover it); it adds a little umami punch to sauces, soups, and noodle-y dishes. I use the white, genmai miso, as it’s umami flavour is a little less pronounced compared to red miso, making it a versatile ingredient for hearty stews to light dressings. For this particular salad dressing, I balanced those earthy flavours with some sweet agave and tart mustard and lemon juice.

Purple Coleslaw with Miso Dressing

I used a food processor to make the slicing and shredding go a lot faster. But a good ol’ knife and box grater will do just fine to get this salad on your table.

Combine cabbage, carrots, and onions in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients (olive oil through pepper) to make the dressing. Pour dressing over cabbage mix and combine thoroughly. You can serve immediately if desired, but this tastes better if you allow the flavours to meld together for an hour before eating.